She recalled her first greeting with the Empress in her previous life, her surprise at the dark expression and the heavy atmosphere of the palace.
Taking a quiet breath, Velia approached the Empress.
“I offer honor to the moon of the Empire. I am Velia, the first princess of Ronika.”
Velia greeted her perfectly according to the Empire’s customs, kneeling briefly before standing upright.
A fleeting interest flickered in the eyes of the Empress.
“Thank you for making the time for my rude request.”
“……Sit.”
With a rigid face devoid of emotion, the Empress gestured to the sofa opposite her.
And then she stared at Velia for a while without saying a word.
After a considerable time passed, the Empress broke the silence, a cold smirk on her lips.
“……I wonder why the Emperor allowed a child like you to be with Khaled.”
Caught off guard by the abrupt comment, Velia looked puzzled.
“May I ask what you mean?”
“The Princess of Ronika choosing Khaled over the Empire’s princes? Word has reached the Empress’ palace.”
“That is…”
“No matter. I did not say this to chastise you.”
Cutting Velia off with her emotionless voice, the Empress gestured to a servant behind her.
The servant slowly placed teacups and desserts on the table between them before quietly exiting the room.
Velia felt irritated by the servant’s behavior and turned her gaze toward the door, which was not completely shut. She frowned.
There was a noticeable lack of courtesy or formality toward the royal family from the servant. Moreover, was this not akin to eavesdropping?
“I do not like you.”
But the Empress, seemingly unconcerned with the servant’s attitude, calmly sipped her tea and offered a faint smile.
And just then, the door closed fully with a soft click.
‘Is this surveillance…?’
Who was listening to this conversation, and to whom would it be reported?
Quickly scanning the room, Velia focused her eyes.
Then the Empress opened her mouth.
“You choosing Khaled was unexpected. I thought he was just an ignorant child who grew up nicely, unaware of the world’s workings, dreaming only of a happy future.”
Her eyes met with Velia’s.
“Why did you choose Khaled?”
Velia struggled to come up with a reply.
She had heard that Khaled never had a proper mother figure.
Even when Khaled was neglected by the Emperor, even when the Empress acted like the palace’s owner, she had remained quietly withdrawn, as if she knew nothing of how the world worked.
Why was she asking about Khaled now?
Velia couldn’t understand her intentions.
Therefore, Velia hesitated for a moment and picked up the teacup in front of her to buy some time.
‘…Huh?’
As the faint aroma from the tea brushed against the tip of her nose, Velia’s hand started to tremble.
The teacup and saucer clinked together, making a noise.
“Why are you doing that?”
Unable to bring the cup to her lips, Velia set it back down on the table.
‘Why did that smell…’
The poisonlaced tea that Raul had forcefully made her drink.
It had the same scent.
A strong vanilla aroma mixed with a bitter herbal scent, unforgettable and suddenly sensed here.
Velia’s pupils quivered.
‘No.’
The scent was far weaker than what she had smelled before.
It could perhaps be just a regular tea with a similar aroma. But Velia, who enjoyed tea, couldn’t dismiss her suspicion because it was a scent she had never encountered before.
“…You seem to know what this is.”
The Empress clicked her tongue at that moment.
“Still can’t understand why the Emperor permitted you to be with Khaled.”
Velia heavily opened her mouth, responding to the Empress’s calm voice.
“Do you know what this is, Your Highness?”
“Yes.”
The answer was indifferent.
As if responding to a comment about the nice weather.
“Since when…”
Did the Empress continually drink poison in her previous life as well?
Velia managed to part her lips to ask a question she was afraid to ask.
“Since when have you been drinking this?”
“I think it’s been a few months now,” the Empress said, taking another sip of the tea.
“…You seem to want to kill me now.”
…Was it the Emperor?
Velia closed her eyes, feeling faint. She saw her own reflection in the Empress.
The vision of herself vomiting blood on the floor, coldly dying, unfolded behind the Empress.
Her emotions roared like a storm in her previously calm mind.
“Would you please die already, Velia?”
Raul’s voice, who had handed her the poisoned tea, echoed in her ears.
She felt nauseous.
“Why, knowing all this…!”
Velia, overwhelmed by surging emotions, was about to say something when the Empress relaxed her stern face and smiled.
“Don’t I have to endure it?”
Velia realized it.
The Empress wasn’t insane.
“Why, why go so far…?”
She couldn’t finish her sentence.
Because it seemed like she understood why the Empress had been enduring, from her fiddling with the teacup and smiling.
“You have no place to ask that. I only wanted to see the face of the girl who would become Khaled’s wife. My meddling seems to have gone too far.”
“…Your Highness, you should cut back on the tea.”
“It’s none of your business.”
“But, this is…”
The Empress raised her hand to stop her words.
My Step-brother Is Obsessed With Me (Female-dominant)
A gentle female protagonist vs pitiful in the early stage, and a sick male protagonist in the later stage
Cheng Songer transmigrated into the body of a vicious cannon fodder female supporting character with the same name as her in a female-dominant novel.
In the original story, the cannon fodder female supporting character was inhumane, committing domestic violence, gambling excessively, being lustful, and even wanting to sell her stepbrother to a brothel for money.
As luck would have it, she just happened to transmigrate at this time.
Seeing Cheng Qingzhi biting his lip, enduring the tears in his eyes, looking pitiful, her heart softened.
She stuffed the money back into the Madam’s hand and reached out to him.
“Brother, come home with me.”
